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No. 609|9L Patented Allg. I6, |898.

E. P. ALLEN.

AUTOMATIC AIR VALVE FOR RADIATDRS.

V(Applieutioxl led July 15, 1897.) (N o M o de I `Illlll TH: NonmsPETERS co, Fuoroumn., wAsmns-rou, n. c4

Nrrr; `STATES Fries.

Arum* EVERETT P. ALLEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOJAMES I-I. EGELSTON, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC AIR-VALVE FOR RADIATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,191, dated August16, 1898.

Application filed July 15,1897. Serial No. 644,670. (No model.)

Radiators, (Case No. 1,) of which the follow-I ing is a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompany.ing drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to automatic air-vent attachments for radiators,and has for its object the provision of such a device in which air maybe admitted to the radiator and expelled therefrom, while at the sametime the passage of steam or water from the radiator is absolutelyprevented, and wherein the steam or water as it is admitted to theattachment is prevented from acting upon any water that may remain inthe attachment to drive the j same through the vent to the exterior.

Generally speaking,my invention comprises in its preferred form a hollowcasing having a nozzle affording communication betweenA the same and aradiator, a lever mounted within the casing, a float controlling theventvalve adapted to be seated upon the lever, an eXpansible portion orrod adapted to actuate said lever, and preferablya 'bucket or receptaclecarried by the lever for receiving the water as it enters the casing. Bythis construction I provide a valve which is actuated positively in onedirection by the weight of the iioat to unseat itself and positively inthe other direction through the agency of the steam or hot Water actingupon the rod or by the Water gradually admitted to the bucket,

the neat being easily removed from nits seatV by the Water when it isadmitted too suddenly to till the bucket before the water is directedhowever, the water is at all times free to flow through the outlet whenthe valve is open to admit air to the radiator. Such construction l isexempliiied in Patent No. 286,446, granted l to John T. Kelly October 9,1883. By my .construction I am enabled at all times to ad- Qmit air tothe radiator or expel it therefrom when required and at the same timeabsolutely prevent the emission of water.

I will explain my invention more particularly by reference to theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred em'bodiA ment ofmy invention as applied to a steamradiator, in which- Figure lis avertical sectional view on plane l l of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional View taken at right angles to plane l l. Fig. 3 is a sectionalplan view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the different iigures. v

In practicing myinvention I preferably em ploy 'a hollow base portion a,provided with a @nozzle b, adapted for insertion into the radijator, thebase portion having cylindrical extensions a. a2, in which tubes c c arescrewed. Caps d d are screwed upon the upper ends of Vthe tubes c c',respectively, cap d' being pro- :vided With a vent e and supportingavalveseat preferably formed in a separable plug f, Ascrewed within thecap, the vent e being continued through this plug. Cap d supports therod of expansible material g, a threaded engagement being preferablyemployed for uniting the cap and rod. The rod is constructed of anysuitable material, but preferably vulcanized rubber, which possesses alarger coeficient of expansion than the surrounding inetal parts. Theexpansible material may lbe formed in other shapes than the rod, ifdelsiredL I provide a lever hwithin the base portion a and preferablypivot the same between its ends. On one end of the lever I providearecessed or cupshaped seat h, havinga restricted o pening h2. The otherend of the `lever preferably rests in contact with the expansible rod g.The fulcrlum h? of the levenis preferably placed nearer to the rod `gthan to the seat h', so that the motion of the end of the lever engagingthe rod will be accompanied by a magnied movement of the seat IOO h. Iprovide a float 7c, which is preferably cylindrical, hollow, and sealed,the bottom of the float being preferably curved to conform to therecessed seat h. A valve Z is carried upon the upper end of the oat.

I preferably provide a bucket m, carried beneath the shorter arm of thelever, which is adapted to receive water when the water reaches thelevel of the rim thereof. A small hole m is provided near the bottom ofthe bucket to permit the water to pass therefrom.

Having particularly described one embodiment of my invention, I will nowdescribe its operation.

The steam upon entering the hollow casing composed of the bottom portiona and tubes c c' expands the rod C, which depresses its end of the leverlt and causes a magnified upward movement of the seat 7L', the float,with its valve, being elevated, the valve then sealing the vent toprevent the emission of water and steam. As the steam condenses the rodg contracts and permits the seat end of the lever to descend, wherebythe vent is opened to admit or expel the air. If the water is graduallyaccumulated within the casing in sufficient quantity, the oat will belifted from its seat to seal the vent, the bucket m being filled at thesame time. rlhe position of the lever h will not be changed, however,when Ithe bucket is filled until the water recedes from the casin g,when the combined weight of the bucket and the water therein willelevate the seat h into engagement with the float to maintain the valveclosed until the water has receded from the casing. The hole fm permitsthe water to flow slowly from the bucket after and as the water recedes,whereby the seat h is gradually lowered and the vent opened afterpractically all of the water has been removed. Water will also enter thebucket at the orifice m as it accumulates within the casing. Often,however,the flow of water into and from the casing is quite rapid, sothat the amount of water entering the restricted opening m is verylittle com- Y pared with that entering the bucket at the top. Owing tothe comparatively slow rate at which the water iiows from the bucket thevalve will be maintained closed as the Water recedes from the casing.

The Water often surges within the hollow casing, which in devicesheretofore employed caused vibration of the float, since thefloat wouldrise and fall with the surging water. By providing the restrictedopening in the seat h this vibrating motion of the float is prevented,since a cushion of water is maintained between the float and seat, whichis not subjected to the surging action of the wat-er in the remainingparts of the casing. As the water becomes exhausted the float willgradually seat itself.

In the claims I use the term rod, referring to the eXpansible portion gin its ordinary sense and as being of any suitable crosssection or inthe sense of a long tube.

VhileI have particularly described the device of my invention as beingemployed with a steam-radiator, I do not wish to be limited to its usewith this one type of radiator. It is obviousthat changes in mechanicaldetail may be made from the preferred embodiment of my invention hereinshown and described, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to theprecise construction and arrangement of parts shown, except ashereinafter set forth in the claims; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing having a vent and adapted for communication with theradiator, of a lever, means controlled by heat for actuating the lever,a float, said lever being adapted to actuate the float, the iioat beingalso capable of action by water accumulated in the casing independent ofthe lever, and a valve for opening and closing the Vent controlled bythe float, substantially as described.

2. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow base portion a, of tubes c c communicating with the same, caps cld/ provided upon the upper ends of tubes c c respectively, cap d beingprovided with a vent c, a nozzle b adapted to afford communicationbetween the radiator and the casing forlned of said tubes and bottomportion, a lever h fulcrumed within the base portion, an expansible rodg engaging said lever and adapted to lift one end thereof as it isexpanded, a oat k adapted to be seated upon the end of the lever that isthus lifted, a valve Zsupported by said float and adapted to seal thevent when the float is elevated, the iioat being adapted to be elevatedfrom its seat by the water that is accumulated within the casing andbeing further adapted to be lowered as the water recedes from the casingor as the engaging end of the lever descends upon the contraction of therod g, substantially as described.

3. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing, having a vent and adapted for communication with theradiator, of a lever, an eXpansible rod adapted to actuate the leverunder the iniiuence of heat, a float removably seated upon the lever, avalve for opening and sealing the vent controlled by the float, thefloat being adapted to actuate the valve independently of the leverthrough the agency of water accumulated within the casing, and alsoadapted to actuate the valve through the agency of the lever andexpansible rod, substantially as described.

4. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing, of a -nozzle or other suitable means adapted to affordcommunication between the same and the radiator, a float, a valvesupported or controlled by said float, a vent adapted to be IOO IIO

sealed by the valve as the float is elevated, and a recessed seat 77.for the float provided with a restricted opening h2, substantially asand for the purpose specified.

5. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing having a vent and adapted for communication with theradiator, of a lever, a float, a valve for opening and closing said ventcontrolled by the ioat, and a bucket adapted to receiveA wateraccumulated within the casing and adapted by its weight combined withthe weight of the water contained therein to actuate said lever, as thewater recedes from the casing, to maintain the valve closed, said bucketbeing provided with an'outlet whereby the valve is opened after thenwater has all, practically, receded from the casing, substantially asdescribed.

6. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing having a vent, of suitable means adapted to affordcommunication between the same and the radiator, a lever, a oatremovably seated upon the lever and adapted to be actuated thereby, avalve for the vent controlled by the fioat, and a bucket or receptacleconnected with the lever adapted to receive water admitted to thecasing, the bucket and water contained therein being adapted to actuatethe lever when the water recedes from the casing to maintain the floatin an elevated position, the vent being thereby closed while the waterrecedes from the casing, said bucket being also adapted to discharge itscontents when the water in the casin g has receded, substantially asdescribed.

7. In an air-vent attachment for radiators, the combination with ahollow casing having a vent, of suitable means adapted to affordcommunication between the same and the radiator, a lever, a floatremovably seated upon the lever and adapted to be actuated thereby, avalve for the vent controlled by the iioat, a bucket or receptacleconnected with the lever adapted to receive water admitted to thecasing, the bucket and water contained therein being adapted to actuatethe lever when the water recedes from the casing to maintain the floatin an elevated position, the vent being thereby closed while the waterrecedes from the casing, said bucket being also adapted to discharge itscontents when the water in the casing has receded, and an expansibleportion adapted to also actuate said lever to seat the valve,substantially as described.

8. In an airvent attachment for radiators, the combination with a hollowcasing having a vent e and adapted for communication with the radiator,of a lever h pivoted between its ends within the casing, a i'ioat kremovably seated upon the lever at one side of its pivot, a valvecontrolled by the float for opening and closing the vent, an expansiblerod adapted to be engaged by the portion of the lever upon the otherside of its pivot, said rod gbeing adapted through the agency of heat todepress the portion of the lever engaged thereby to elevate the float,which thereupon is adapted to close the valve, the float being adaptedto be removed from its seat upon the lever by the water accumulatedwithin the casing to also close the valve, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 3d day of July, A.D. 1897.

EVERETT P. ALLEN. i Vitnesses:

GEO. D. HOFFMAN, GEORGE L. ORAGG.

